AN ANALYSIS OF RETAILERS PERCEPTION TOWARDS NIRMA BEAUTY SOAP WITH

REFERENCE TO AHMEDABAD CITY

PROF. NEHAL A. SHAH
Assistant Professor (MBA Deptt.)
Gandhinagar Institute of Technology,
(A Center for Management Studies)
Gandhinagar-382721, Gujarat, INDIA

DR. VASUDEV A. MODI
Assistant Professor,
B K School of Business Management,
Gujarat University, Navrangpura,
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, INDIA


ABSTRACT






a)
b)



Keywords: FMCG, Toilet / Beauty soap, Retailer, Perception, and Non Soapy Detergent.

Introduction:
The Indian Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market is growing at an exponential rate. The
FMCG products are sold quickly at relatively low cost. Though, the absolute profit made on FMCG products
is relatively small, they generally sell in large quantities, so the cumulative profit on such products can be
large. In Indian FMCG market the toilet/bathing soap is occupying an attractive market share.
In soap sector the variety of species of soap products are found in a consumer household market.
Hence, in developed countries special soaps or Non Soapy Detergent (NSD) may be used for washing
coloured clothes, white clothes, delicate clothes, dishes, hands, windows, floors, toilets, kitchen surface,
carpets, for bathing, showering, shampooing. In emerging market one or two types of soap may serve the need
of users i.e.: Toilet/Bathing soap and Washing soap.
The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest in the economy and has a market size of US$13.1
billion
1
, and there by providing knowledge of hidden opportunities in the Indian FMCG sector. Indian beauty
soap industry has also been studied thoroughly.
Nirma, the proverbial Rags to Riches saga of its founder is a classic example of the success of
Indian entrepreneurship in the face of stiff competition. Starting as a one-man operation in 1969, today, it has
about 14,000 employee-bases and annual turnover is above Rs. 2,500 crores
2
. Nirma in a short span captured
the domestic market with a quality product. Nirma in true sense, spearheaded the market revolution by
offering innovative, value-for-money products, and changed the cloth-washing habit of Indian housewives -
the revolution itself called asNIRMA.
The performance of Nirma during the decade of 1980s has been labeled as Marketing Miracle of an
era. During this period, the brand surged well ahead its nearest rival Surf, which was well-established
detergent product by Hindustan Unilever. It was a severing battering for MNC as it recorded a sharp drop in
its market share. Nirma literally captured the market share by offering value-based marketing mix of four Ps,
i.e. a perfect match of product, price, place and promotion.
Nirma has always remained committed to offer better products, at better value, for better living.
Nirma is one of the few names - which are instantly recognised as a true Indian brand, which took on mighty
multinationals and rewrote the marketing rules to win the heart of princess, i.e. the Customers.

II. Review of Literature
(A) Retail Sector in I ndia
Mittal &Prashar (2011)
3
identified the opportunities and challenges faced by organised retailers in
the tri-city (Chandigarh - Panchkula - Mohali) region. The result of the study reveals that competition from the
unorganised sector is the biggest challenge for organised retailers. Other challenges faced by organised
retailers are- inefficiency of distribution channels, internal logistical problem and retail shrinkage. It was
found that organised retailers see growing middle class as their greatest opportunity followed by large number
The Indian soap industry is facing the cut throat competition, so it is essential for all the company
in the industry to fulfill the customers demand by offering products (i.e.: soap) at right place at a right time
and at the right price via retailers. India is a one of the largest consumer economy, with burgeoning middle
class pie. In such a widespread, diverse marketplace, Nirma aptly concentrated all its efforts towards
creating and building a strong consumer preference towards its value-for-money products.
This study basically focuses on perception towards Nirma toilet/beauty soap from retailers
perspective of Ahmedabad city of Gujarat state. As we know the retailers work as mediators between
manufacturer and customer who plays a vital role in fulfilling the needs of end-users by making the things
available at the doorstep.

of earning youth customers. The tri- city region has people from all over India, proportionate increase in
spending with earnings and India's booming economy.
Dash (2011)
4
concluded that the India Retail Industry is the largest among all the industries,
accounting for over 10 per cent of the countrys GDP and around 8 per cent of the employment. The Retail
Industry in India had come forth as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players
entering the market. But all of them have not yet tasted success because of the heavy initial investments that
are required to break even with other companies and compete with them. The India Retail Industry is
gradually inching its way towards becoming the next boom industry. Today retailing is the largest contributing
sector to country's GDP i.e. 10 per cent as compared to 8 per cent in China, 6 per cent in Brazil. Modern
retailing is capable of generating employment opportunities for 2.5 million people by 2010 in various retail
operations and over 10 million additional workforces in retail support activities.
Sathish & Venkatrama (2010)
5
summarised that the retail market was the next growth frontier for
corporate India. It offers an opportunity for a large player to build a Rs. 40,000 crores retail business spanning
multiple categories by 2015 (at current prices). Compared to this, the revenue of the largest Indian retailer
Pantaloon was only Rs. 1,085 crores in 2005. No wonder large domestic business houses and international
retailers had expressed keen interest to enter the retail sector in India. However, to capitalise on the
opportunity, a player needs to be aggressive in its outlook and build scale quickly.
Singhal (2010)
6
according to a study conducted by KSA Technopak, Indias leading management
consultancy firm specializing in the fashion and retail industries, organised retailing in the country is estimated
to touch Rs. 18,000 crores in 2002-2003. This reflects a 20 per cent growth over the previous year. The year
2003 will be the year of rapid growth for the organised retail sector in India. It will usher in improved
profitability for the leading players and by 2004, country will see at least three of the top ten global retail
giants firm up entry plans for India, said Arvind Singhal, Chairman, KSA-Technopak, in a presentation on
Organised Retailing: Emerging Opportunities. Global retailing trends clearly show that consolidation and
mass merchandising have contributed significantly to the success of international retailers.
Mishra (2008)
7
strategically analysed and looked at the factors which affect the growth of the Indian
retail market, which were as follows: economic growth, increase in purchasing power, young aged
demographics. This paper had also carried out the SWOT and Porters analysis of new organised retail
models. Fig. 1 shows list of various factors that are affecting the growth of Indian retail industry.


Fig 1: Growth Drivers of Indian Retail Industry
8


(B) I ndian Soap I ndustry
Soap is a surfactant used in conjunction with water for washing and cleaning that historically comes
in solid bars but also in the form of a thick liquid, especially from soap dispensers in public washrooms.
Historically, soap has been composed of sodium (soda ash) or potassium (potash) salts of fatty acids derived
by reacting fat with lye in a process known as specification. The fat sare hydrolysed by the base, yielding
glycerol and crude soap. Many cleaning agents today are technically not soaps, but detergents, which are less
expensive and easier to manufacture.
9

The Indian soap industry includes about 700 companies with combined annual revenue of about $17
billion. All companies are operated over all metropolitan cities of India. Generally Indian per capita
consumption of soap is at 460 gms per annum and 70% of India's population resides in the rural areas and
around 50 per cent of the soaps are sold in the rural markets.
10
Monitor (2011)
11
analysed that the soap market in India increased at a compound annual growth rate
of 12 per cent between 2004 and 2009. The bar soap segment led the soap market in India in 2009, with a
share of 99.3 per cent. The leading player in soap market in India is Unilever.

III. Need of the Study
Due to cut throat competition in the market of toilet/ beauty soaps segment, it is necessary to do the
study of retailers perception towards Nirma Beauty
soap. For that reason it is needed to know the actual selling of companys products in terms of revenue/
number of units sold/its competitors selling in the market, how much share the company holds in the total
market etc.

IV. Objectives of the Study
1. To measure the market share of Nirma toilet/beauty soap in Ahmedabad city.
2. To identify major competitors of Nirma beauty soaps in Ahmedabad city.
3. To identify the market moving fragrance/flavor, price and pack size of the beauty soap.
4. To know the view of retailers regarding service provided by Nirma and their satisfaction level with
comparison of other beauty soaps manufacturing companies.
5. Try to get suggestions from retailers to improve sales of Nirma beauty soaps.

V. Research Methodology
The study is descriptive in nature. The researcher adopted this research design to gather information
from the respondents to assess the preferences of customers and factors affecting among the retailers towards
selling of Nirma toilet/beauty soaps. The study was conducted with 200 samples (180 Retailers & 20
Wholesalers) from Ahmedabad city of Gujarat state. The sampling method adopted for the study was non-
probability convenient sampling where the researcher can select the sample elements based on the ease of
access. Structured questionnaire was prepared to survey the respondents. The primary data has been collected
through a structured questionnaire from the respondents.
The secondary data has been collected from the books, journals, magazines and websites. The data
relating to the company were collected from the personal manual and past records of the company. The data
was collected by contacting individual retailer directly.

VI. Data Analysis and Interpretation
1. List of area surveyed in Ahmedabad city:
Table 1.0 shows the overall list of area of our surveyed from Ahmedabad city of Gujarat
state.


2. Which toilet/beauty/bathing soaps are mostly sold?
2.1: Pink Flavor
The study found that beauty soaps are most demanded in the pink flavor from the point of
view of retailers. Retailers gave first rank to the Lux strawberry, second and third position gained by
Godrej No.1 Rose and Strawberry respectively. Nirma Beauty is at the fourth rank and Nima Rose is
at the 8
th
rank. From table 2.1, we can interpret here that rose and strawberry flavors in the pink
beauty soap category are high in demand.


2.2: White Flavor
The table shows that Lux is again on the top, at the first rank with the flavor of Peach.
Godrej No. 1 Jasmine is at the 2
nd
rank where Nirma Beauty White is at the 7
th
rank and is not in that
much demand. Here from table 2.2, we can interpret that in white toilet/bathing soap category peach,
almond and jasmine flavours are most in demand.


2.3: Sandal Flavor
The table 2.3 shows that according to the retailers, Santoor is at the 1
st
rank in the sandal
flavor of toilet/ bathing soap category. Whereas Godrej No. 1 is at the 2
nd
and Nima Sandal is at the
3
rd
rank. Here, we can interpret that Breeze, Dyna and Jo are least preferred for sandal flavor of
toilet/bathing soap.

2.4: Lime Flavor
The table 2.4 shows that Cinthol, Godrej No. 1 and Breeze are the most demanded in the
lime category of toilet/bathing soap, whereas Nirma Lime Fresh is not that much preferred by the
consumers and is having the least demand in lime category toilet/bathing soap.
Table 1.0
Table 2.1
Table 2.2
Table 2.3

3. Total market share of different brands of beauty soaps
The table 3.0 shows that the Godrej No. 1 is the market leader with the market share of 28
per cent, Lux at the 2
nd
position with the market share of 15 per cent and Nirma is at the 3
rd
position
with the market share of 13 per cent, whereas Nima brand is having 3 per cent market share.

4. Under which pack size (in grams) toilet/beauty soaps are mostly sold?
The table 4.0 shows that 125 gm pack size of the toilet/ bathing soap is the market mover.
Followed by 100 gm pack size is high in demand.

5. Under which price segment toilet/beauty soaps are mostly sold?
The table 5.0 shows that according to the retailers, toilet/bathing soaps are mostly sold
between price range of Rs. 11-15, i.e. 45 per cent which includes Godrej No. 1, Fair Glow, Breeze,
Jo, and Vivel.



6. Which company provides you better service?
The review of retailers revealed that 78 per cent of the retailers believe that all the
companies give them good service; whereas 7 per cent of the retailers believe that none of companies
give them good service. We can visualize from table 6.0 that top three companies who provide best
service are Nirma, HUL and Godrej.

7. According to you what are the major attributes that influence customers decision to buy
toilet/beauty soap?
The table 7.0 shows that people are more Brand and Price oriented. Followed by quality,
fragrance/flavor and packing of the toilet/bathing soaps. According to the retailers weight and
advertising are also influencing factors, whereas shape, ingredient and color of the toilet/bathing
soaps are least preferred by customers.


8. What suggestions would you like to give to increase the sales of Nirma toilet/bathing soap
or to improve the product?
From table 8.0 we can analyse that, most of the retailers believed that retailers scheme and
consumer scheme would be beneficial to increase the sales of Nirma Beauty soap. In addition to this
attractive display is beneficial to attract retailers for selling of the Nirma Beauty soap. 35 per cent retailers
believe that Nirma should increase the range of the product; it should increase the fragrance/flavours in the
beauty soap. Frequent advertising is also one of the ways to change the mindset of the consumers. 12
percent retailers emphasis is on the frequent advertising.

VII. Findings
1) Nirma beauty soaps are doing well in Ahmedabad city but it is not at the first place. Nirma Beauty
soaps come at the third place after Godrej No. 1 at the first and Lux at the second, whereas Nima
soaps has secured 8
th
place.
2) For Nirma, pink flavor is most demanded and for Nima, sandal flavour is most demanded.
3) In the areas like Vejalpur, Ghatlodiya, Vasana, Maninagar, Viratnagar, Mithakkhali, Rakhiyal, and
Kalupur, Nirma is moving very fast and vice versa in the areas like Navrangpura, Satellite,
Nirnaynagar, Gurukul, and Paldi.
4) Nirma provides maximum margin but does not give any schemes to the retailers and to the consumers
also. But retailers are satisfied with the service provided by Nirma.

Table 2.4
Table 3.0
Table 4.0
Table 5.0
Table 6.0
Table 7.0
Table 8.0
VIII. Conclusion
With consumers today exposed to choices in terms of new categories, new brands and new shopping
options enabling them to seek more information in the crowded retail environment, it is a major challenge for
FMCG companies to attract them. Also the price sensitivity is waxing and brand loyalty is waning. And the
consumers, who once stuck to favorite brands, are now, willing to try any quality products at an affordable
price. That is why many soap companies are now offering additional benefits at no extra cost.
Nirma can be said as the most reverential and one of the best managed companies of India. One
important part of FMCG companies is its distribution network, its retailers and wholesalers. The overall
system should have perfect co-ordination and cooperation among all its activities starting from the product in
the production process till it has proved that it has well established and robust network system.
If the soaps market is an indication, analysts believe that the customer is getting a perceptibly similar
value at a lower price and hence down traced. The Indian consumer is extremely price conscious and wont
pay for something in which he does not see incremental value. So in effect, companies are not matching the
premium they are charging for their products with adequate increase in product attributes and usage. In order
to achieve higher growth rates, per capita consumption and penetration levels have to be increased.
This requires use of promotional schemes that are the most essential in todays market. Though, this
could not guarantee brand loyalty by the customers but at-least the customers will try the products and
generate sales for the companies.
The result of above survey shows that Nirma Ltd. is providing good monetary benefits in terms of
margin to retailers as well as wholesalers and also provides value for money to customers.

IX. Limitations
This survey is conducted by considering the time constraint. Sample size of two hundred retailers
may unjustify the survey. It is difficult to be precise about the most appropriate sample size for conducting
such research. Due to subjectivity and beliefs of retailers, some responses of the questionnaire may differ from
the reality. Also due to lack of available literature may affect the validity of the data.

XI. Annexure
TABLE 1.0: LIST OF SURVEYED AREA





























TABLE 2: FRAGRANCE / FLAVOR WISE RANKING OF VARIOUS SOAPS

Area Retailers Wholesalers Semi-Wholesalers Total
Navrangpura 15 - - 15
Satellite 15 - - 15
Vejalpur 21 1 3 25
Ghatlodiya 14 - 1 15
Nirnaynagar 14 1 - 15
Gurukul 14 - 1 15
Paldi 15 - - 15
Vasana 11 2 2 15
Maninagar 14 - 1 15
Viratnagar 15 - - 15
Mithakali 12 1 2 15
Rakhiyal 15 - - 15
Kalupur 5 3 2 10
Total 180 8 12 200
2.1: Pink Fragrance/Flavor
Flavor/ Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Overall
Score
Nirma
Beauty
480 161 48 385 20 6 32 9 1141
Nima Rose 0 14 18 0 8 48 60 147 295
Lux
Strawberry
856 301 168 105 0 3 0 0 1433
Goderaj No. 1
Rose
352 700 270 35 4 3 2 1 1367
Goderaj No. 1
Strawberry
56 140 600 240 40 21 16 0 1113
Breeze Rose 40 154 102 125 364 57 0 21 863
Dyna Rose 0 0 60 70 92 189 112 34 557
Jo Rose 16 0 66 130 112 60 174 26 584
Source: Field Survey

2.2: White Fragrance/Flavor
Flavor/ Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Overall
Score
Nirma Beauty 88 49 48 5 16 9 186 73 474
Lux Peach 976 322 78 35 20 21 0 0 1452
Fair Glow 0 0 654 140 60 42 44 12 952
Godrej No.1
Jasmine
304 875 114 50 0 0 16 0 1359
Jo Almond 136 70 96 575 100 0 14 10 1001
Jo Jasmine 0 14 72 100 260 285 10 1 742
Dyna Almond 0 0 48 85 324 180 50 9 696
Vivel 0 0 0 50 32 51 46 142 321
Source: Field Survey

2.3: Sandal Fragrance/Flavor
Flavor/ Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 Overall Score
Nima 60 165 476 42 34 7 784
Goderaj No. 1 162 550 120 45 34 1 912
Breeze 78 125 144 282 30 17 676
Dyna 0 0 48 90 220 48 406
Jo 0 45 0 108 100 105 358
Santoor 786 105 48 57 20 7 1023
Source: Field Survey

2.4: Lime Fragrance/Flavor


Source: Field
Survey

TABLE 3.0:
MARKET SHARS
OF






DIFFERENT SOAP BRANDS

Soap No. of Units / Month Percentage
Nirma 44008 13%
Nima 11391 3%
Godrej No. 1 96872 28%
Lux 53369 15%
Breeze 27703 8%
Dyna 26698 7%
Jo 31480 9%
Santoor 29390 8%
Vivel 4098 1%
Cinthol 16201 5%
Fair Glow 10240 3%
Total 3,51,450 100
Source: Field Survey

TABLE 4.0: PREFERANCE FOR PACKET SIZE
Flavor/Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 Overall Score
Nirma 0 0 0 0 86 157 243
Godrej No. 1 204 630 88 27 6 6 961
Cinthol 894 105 32 39 18 0 1088
Breeze 138 85 416 129 18 4 790
Dyna 54 65 108 261 68 30 586
Jo 42 90 148 174 146 7 607
Soap /
Grams
(gm)
50
gm
75
gm
100
gm
115
gm
125
gm
135
gm
150
gm
Nirma - 1% 98% - - - 1%
Nima - - 100% - - - -
Godrej No. 1 - - - - 100% - -
Lux - 56% 14% - - 30% -
Breeze 28% - - - 72% - -
Dyna - - - - 100% - -
Jo - - - 100% - - -
Santoor 16% 20% - 64% - - -
Vivel - - 76% - - - 24%
Cinthol - - - - 100% - -




Source: Field Survey

TABLE 5.0: PREFERRED PRICE SEGMENT FOR SOAP

Price Segment (in INR) No. of Respondent Percentage
Rs. 6-10 43 22%
Rs. 11-15 91 45%
Rs. 16-20 49 24%
Above Rs. 20 17 9%
Total 200 100
Source: Field Survey


TABLE 6.0: PREFERANCE OF SERVICE














Source: Field Survey

TABLE 7.0: FACTORS THAT CAN AFFECT SOAP PURCHASE DECISION


















Source: Field Survey

TABLE 8.0: SUGGESTIONS GIVEN BY RETAILERS FOR NIRMA BEAUTY SOAP
Fair Glow - 100% - - - - -
Name of Company No. of Respondent Percentage
HUL 164 82%
ITC 156 78%
Anchor 156 78%
Nirma 169 85%
Godrej 161 81%
VVF 156 78%
Wipro 160 80%
Factors No. of Respondent Percentage
Price 147 74%
Shape 34 17%
Ingredient 23 12%
Color 45 23%
Packing 118 59%
Fragrance/Flavor 122 61%
Weight 87 44%
Advertising 98 49%
Brand 152 76%
Suggestions / Soap
Nirma
Pink
Nirma
White
Nirma
Lime
Nima
Sandal
Nima
Rose
Add Flavors 35% 35% 1% 35% 35%
New Packaging 7% 7% - 7% 7%
Frequent Advertising 12% 12% - 12% 12%
New ad model 9% 9% - 9% 9%
Stronger Distribution Network - - - - -
Consumer Sales Promotion 60% 60% 2% 60% 60%
Retailer Sales Promotion 66% 66% 3% 66% 66%
Attractive Display 44% 44% 2% 44% 44%
Source: Field Survey

X. References
1. At http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles_various/fmcg-in-india.asp, (Accessed on August12, 2012).
2. At http://www.nirma.co.in/genesis.htm, (Accessed November 21, 2012).
3. Mittal, K.C. &Prashar, A. (2011), A field Study on Opportunities and Challenges Faced by
Organised Retailers in Tri-City, Synergy, 9(9), 69-78.
4. Dash, M.S. (2011), Next-Generation Retailing In India: An Empirical Study Using Factor
Analysis,1(2), , 25-35.
5. Satish, D.&Venkatrama, R.D. (2010), The Growth of Indian Retail Industry, Advances In
Management, 3.
6. Singhal, A. (2010), Organised Retailing: Emerging Opportunities, at
http://www.businesswireindia.com/pressrelease.asp?b2mid=2647, (Accessed August 20, 2012).
7. Mishra, S. (2008), New Retail Models in India: Strategic Perspective Analysis, Journal of
Marketing & Communication, 4(2), 39-47.
8. At http://www.dnb.co.in/IndianRetailIndustry/insight.asp, (Accessed October 12, 2012).
9. Top Soap Brands in India, at http://business.mapsofindia.com/top-brands-india/top-soap-brands-in-
india.html, (Accessed September 03, 2012).
10. At www.indianmirror.com/indian-industries/soap.html, (Accessed August 19, 2012).
11. Monitor (2011), Soap Market in Indian 2014 (Personal Hygiene), 35.